


wow

by glad_er



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-04-09 11:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4347833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glad_er/pseuds/glad_er
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minho is the first greenie out of the Box after the first group, and he can't stop talking nonsense (more often than not, trashy pick-up lines) whenever he sees the boy who literally took his breath away on his first day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

Minho woke up in a dark room, surrounded by four metal walls.

 _Not the ideal place_ , he thought grimly, as he felt his way around the room in an attempt to find a way out.

With a sudden jolt and a screech, the room started moving upwards. His legs gave way, and he fell to the floor, hands breaking his fall. The word “elevator” sprang to mind, and he chased it to the corners of his mind, only to realise that although he knew what elevators were, he had absolutely no idea how he knew.

As he struggled to get back up, yet another thought sprang to mind. The elevator’s destination was unknown. It could have been carting him off to some death chamber, and he wouldn’t have known. Dozens of possibilities sprung to mind, but none of them prepared him for the sight that greeted him when the room jerked to a stop, and the ceiling opened.

Sunlight hit like a punch to the face, and he raised an arm to shield himself. His eyes slowly adjusted to the blinding light, and he lowered his arm to find several boys staring at him in curiosity.

“Hey, Nick! There’s a kid here!” A voice called out amongst the chatter.

“Looks like a piece of klunk, if you ask me.”

“No one’s asking you. Shut up.”

The boys surrounding him then parted to make way for another one, the presumed “Nick”, who knelt down to take a better look at him. Nick then proceeded to bark out orders to the boys next to him.

“Siggy, go get some rope!”

“We don’t have enough to support someone!”

“Then cut off some of the vines,” Nick replied, before turning back to Minho. “Sorry, kid. You might have to wait a bit. You’re the first person since we got here.”

Minho took slight offense to the word “kid”, and began looking around, noticing several boxes of various sizes. He began stacking them, ensuring that they would hold his weight, before using them as a makeshift ladder to climb out of the elevator.

Nick raised his eyebrows, before reaching down to lend him a hand. A couple of the boys whistled, and he could hear someone say something along the lines of “clever shank”.

As he climbed out, he began to take in his new surroundings. More walls. Thankfully, he thought as he clambered out of the elevator, these walls had openings. Ignoring the other boys as they stared at him, he headed towards the open doors.

Escape. That was his first instinct.

He was so focused on the gigantic stone walls that he failed to notice everything else. The hut (if you could call it that), the field where tiny shoots grew out of the soil, and, most importantly, the other boys’ faces.

Minho was so occupied in trying to escape that he didn’t notice they all had one thing in common. He hadn’t considered the fact that this place was just a larger version of that elevator.

They all screamed _trapped_.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going, shuck-face?”

Minho jumped, startled, unaware that Nick and the others had caught up to him.

“Back to my mansion,” Minho retorted.

A few boys chortled, while others started talking furiously amongst themselves, and one was heard over the rest, “he speaks!”

A chorus of laughter sounded out, making him feel slightly embarrassed, but that just made him more defiant. Nick, their leader, or so Minho presumed, stepped forward, eyebrows furrowed.

“You can’t go out there,” he insisted. “Believe me, we’re trying every possible scenario, but going in now isn’t a wise decision.”

Minho could feel irritation slowly bubbling up inside him. Vague answers were not going to make him less curious. If anything, he now had a greater desire to venture out into the unknown. However, the odds of twenty or so boys to one weren’t fantastic, and he had the feeling that if he tried to leave, he would be stopped by any means necessary.

So, instead, he asked, “What’s out there that’s so bad that you guys are scared of?”

Nick scratched the back of his neck, trying to figure out the appropriate response. Whatever Minho expected, whatever was about to come out of Nick’s mouth, was suddenly interrupted by a heavy booming sound.

Minho spun around, eager to find out what was going on. Instead, he began panicking as the opening in the walls started to get smaller and smaller. It didn’t take a genius (not that he wasn’t one, of course) to figure out that once those openings closed, he couldn’t leave.

That thought fuelled to his desire to escape, and in a desperate attempt to find his way out, he made a mad dash for one of the openings.

“Hey!” Nick yelled from behind him, trying to stop him.

As he ran towards an opening, he could see the other boys running to prevent him from leaving.

He heard one of them call out to the others, “the Runners aren’t back yet!”

Part of Minho’s brain began to process this new piece of information. _The Runners? Who were they? Were they people who were able to leave this place? Where hadn’t they come back from?_

His mind was so preoccupied that he failed to notice the group of boys who were racing towards him, until they were a couple of metres away from him.

A blond-haired boy was leading the group, frantically gesturing for Minho to move out of their way, yelling something he couldn’t make out.

“Argh!” Minho felt all the air leave his lungs as the boy shoved him aside in a desperate attempt to move him out of the way, to clear the way for the remainder of the boys struggling to get through the opening. He tripped over something on the ground, and found himself sprawling on the grass, with the blond-haired boy landing right smack on top of him.

His first instinct was to apologise. It was nice to know that he still had his manners, even if he couldn’t remember the first thing about the people who taught them to him. Apologising would have been the smart thing to do, seeing as he was in the wrong. However, he took one look at that mop of blond hair, the chestnut brown eyes, the smile that looked perfect and _adorable_ , and before he could form a thought, a single word left his lips.

“Wow,” he breathed, taking in the sight of what seemed to be an angel that had descended from the heavens.

Which, of course, had to be the next thing that came out of his mouth.

“Are you an angel?”

The boy tilted his head in confusion, before using his arms to push off of Minho.

“Who’s this shank, then?” The boy asked quizzically, looking to Nick for an answer since Minho was too busy admiring him to form a reply.

“This shuck-face came up in the Box with the rest of the stuff,” Nick supplied helpfully.

The boy nodded sharply, before standing upright and dusting his hands off on his too-large beige hooded shirt. He offered a hand to Minho, who proceeded to stare at it open-mouthed like it was a lifeline.

“Is there something wrong with him?” The boy whispered quietly to Nick, furrowing his eyebrows.

Overhearing him and blushing furiously, Minho grabbed his hand and let himself be pulled up.

“I’m Minho,” he exclaimed far too loudly, too eager to prove that he wasn’t who he seemed to be.

The boy chuckled, “The name’s Newt, greenie.”

“What kind of a name is Newt? You’re way more gorgeous than a newt,” he blurted out, unable to stop the words falling out of his mouth.

Nick raised an eyebrow, amused at the new boy’s embarrassment and at his friend struggling to hold back his laughter.

“Hey, that’s cute, thanks!” Newt grinned, clearly finding the entire thing hilarious while Minho was completely _mortified_.

“I-I only meant, uh, you, um,” Minho stammered.

“See you around, greenbean,” he called out as he walked off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! so after promising to write more, i finally found the time to post this and i hope you like it! uh yeah so i'm pretty much minewt trash and i hope u are too bc then we can talk about those cute assholes and uh i'm not entirely sure where this is going (the story, i mean) but please like and give feedback or just comment if you can, thank you so much guys!!


	2. Call Me Maybe

“So here’s your sleeping bag and your pillow,” Nick finished, tossing them to Minho.

A cloud of dust emerged when Minho caught what appeared to be his new bed. After noticing the face he made, the corners of Nick’s mouth turned down.

“Sorry,” he apologised. “The guy who was supposed to use this didn’t really get the chance.”

“Did he find a better place to sleep or something?” Minho asked.

Nick grimaced, his thoughts turning to that poor soul’s fate. The first boy to lose his life to the maze.

A gravelly voice sounded from behind Minho. “He sure did, kid. Six feet under. Now move, you’re stepping on my pillow, you shank.”

Swivelling around, he found himself face to face with yet another boy.

“Alby,” Nick exclaimed cheerfully, walking up to give him a clap on the back. “Greenie, meet my second-in-command.”

Alby’s nose wrinkled at the unfamiliar term.

“Greenie?”

“One of Newt’s words, I don’t know,” Nick shrugged, as if that was an appropriate explanation, then turned back to face Minho. “I should probably show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

Minho gathered up his belongings—which, as of now, consisted only of a sleeping bag, a pillow, and his name— and trailed after Nick. Tuning out whatever Nick was saying about sleeping arrangements, he looked around at the wooden structure (it seemed a bit of a stretch to call it a house, in his opinion) that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned once since the boys had started living there. Sleeping bags littered the ground, so much so that he couldn’t even make out what the colour of the floor was. He probably couldn’t have, seeing as the lighting inside was horrendous. He had enough trouble following Nick as it was.

“—here.”

Minho’s attention swiftly turned back to Nick, as he noticed that the leader was gesturing to a miraculously empty spot on the floor, close to a corner of the room.

“Hmm?” Minho murmured, still not paying full attention.

“I said, you can dump your stuff here. It’s going to be your home for…”

Nick didn’t finish his sentence, seeming unsure of how to end it himself.

“Now what?”

“Now, greenie,” Nick said, grinning, “you meet the rest of the family.”

\----------

“Meeting the rest of the family” turned out to be various introductions from the boys he vaguely remembered from before, who were sitting together outside another building, munching away on what looked like sandwiches. Nick quickly sat him down, before excusing himself from the conversation to go and assist Alby, who was struggling with a bunch of supplies from the Box. Minho then realised that Nick was essentially asking those boys to babysit him in case he did something incredibly reckless. _Well_ , he supposed, _something even more reckless than running straight into that Maze._

“I’m Ben, and this shuck-face next to me is Gally. We build things.” One of the boys with blond hair spoke first, staring fondly at the boy named Gally, even though his words were directed at Minho.

Gally, in turn, with his mouth full, sputtered out, “I’m not a shuck-face, you shank!”

“They’re dating, don’t pay any attention. That’s probably flirting in their books,” another boy whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “I’m Siggy. Want a sandwich? I made ‘em myself.”

Figuring they were probably decent, judging from the way the boys were scarfing them down, Minho attempted to steal a couple from Gally’s plate while he was busy arguing with his boyfriend. Unfortunately for him, Gally turned out to be pretty observant even when seemed to have eyes only for Ben.

“Hey, watch it, newbie!” Gally snapped at him.

“Well it wasn’t like you were eating them,” Minho reasoned, deliberately taking a large bite out of the tantalising sandwich.

“You little sh—”

“Relax, Gally,” came a familiar accented voice from behind him. “It’s just one buggin’ sandwich. Plus, if the greenie can steal that from ya plate, he deserves it.”

“Newt!” Minho yelped, immediately scrambling to make room.

“Hey, greenie, nice to see you’re all settled in and makin’ friends,” Newt chuckled, settling down next to him.

“Newt, you’re basically the third-in-command around here,” Gally pointed out.

“Yeah, so?”

“So, make the slinthead give my sandwich back!”

“What do you want him to do, vomit it back up?” Siggy countered, before handing over one of his own.

“Thanks, Siggy. Food stealing isn’t tolerated around here, _newbie_.” Gally threatened, waving around yet another sandwich.

“Unless it’s from Gally,” Ben quipped, snagging a sandwich from his boyfriend’s plate.

“I hate you all,” Gally grumbled, before shifting the plate to the centre, having given up trying to keep it for himself.

“Here, greenie, you can share with me,” Newt said, shifting his plate closer to Minho.

“Greenie? Is that your name? It kind of sucks.” Gally commented.

“Of course it isn’t, you shank. Hey greenbean, what did ya say your name was?” Newt asked, trying to recall it. “Min-something?”

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“Well, people call me Minho, but you can call me tonight.”

Well, _shit_.

Stunned silence seemed to echo off the gigantic walls that lead to the Maze, and Minho swore he could feel his face getting hotter by the second.

_Do they even have communication devices here?_ He thought, trying to look anywhere except Newt’s face, which led him to look at Siggy’s.

The boy was obviously trying to keep a straight face, just like the rest of the boys around them.

“Uh… I-I mean…” Minho stammered.

Gally broke first, bursting into explosive laughter, quickly followed by the boys around him.

“Hey, newbie,” Ben said, in between fits of laughter. “If you want to get with the leader of the Runners, try better pick-up lines that won’t get your ass kicked by the person you’re directing them at.”

“No way,” Gally retorted. “Don’t stop, newbie. It’s going to be entertaining to watch. Well, that and the look on Newt’s face was absolutely _priceless_.”

Minho slowly turned to look at Newt, noticing that he was laughing too, and the tips of his ears were burning red.

“Greenie, how do ya keep coming up with this stuff?” He exclaimed incredulously, still giggling away.

_Oh thank god, Newt thought he wasn’t being serious_ , he thought.

“Natural talent,” Minho replied, grinning.

“It may be natural,” Siggy chuckled. “But it sure isn’t talent.”

Newt stood up, brushing the grass stains off his pants, before excusing himself from the group, saying that he had Runner business to attend to. Waving goodbye to everyone, he walked off towards the group of Runners eating not too far away.

The boys carried on the conversation, introducing Minho to the “Glade”, or so they called it, and telling him all sorts of stories about the maze.

It wasn’t long before Nick returned, ready to continue the tour, and Minho bid farewell to his new friends.

“By the way, greenie,” Gally called out after him. “If you want to date our third-in-command, find yourself better pick-up lines.”

“Wait, what the hell happened while I was gone?”

The look on Nick’s face made them all crack up again, leaving Minho with the embarrassing duty of explaining the entire story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the responses from the last chapter! y'all are so nice that i'm gonna give u guys the next chapter earlier than planned so i hope you like it!! please comment and like the thing if you can, thank you!  
> also i had siggy (frypan btw) making sandwiches bc i figured after a month they should probably still be settling duties and food issues and stuff yas


	3. Is it Hot in here?

The next time Minho saw Newt was when he was heading into the Homestead to go to sleep, in preparation for his second day in the Glade.

“Hey, greenie,” Newt greeted, falling into step beside him.

“Newt,” Minho started, surprised to see Newt for the third time that day. “What are you doing here?”

Seeing the corners of his mouth turn down, Minho immediately corrected himself. “I mean, not that I don’t want you here. I definitely do! I just meant to ask why you were talking to me. That is, I was trying to—”

“Relax, greenie.” Newt chuckled, slinging an arm around Minho’s shoulders, causing all thoughts of a reply to fly out of his head.

“Relax? I’m completely relaxed.” Minho replied, trying and failing to think of much more beyond the fact that _Newt’s arm was around him_.

“I think the greenie’s forgotten where he dumped his sleeping bag.” Nick chortled from Minho’s other side.

_When had he gotten here?_ Minho had been so preoccupied by Newt’s arrival that he had failed to notice that Nick had been accompanying him since he stepped through the threshold.

“Of course I haven’t! I bet you five bucks my memory’s better than yours, old man.” Minho retorted.

“Old man? I’m like two years older than you, kid,” Nick snorted.

Minho paused, realising he didn’t know how old he was.

“Don’t worry, greenie. Ya look like you’re around fifteen, sixteen.” Newt said thoughtfully. “Like me.”

“How can you tell?” Minho asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“We can’t. It’s just a guess. But we’ve only got people who look like teenagers in here so far, and I’m willing to bet ya ain’t thirteen.”

“I’d love to let you shanks chat, but it’s nearly eleven and we have to be up early tomorrow,” Nick interjected. “Newt, can you show the greenie where his sleeping bag is? It’s next to yours.”

As Newt started to tiptoe precariously around the sleeping bags that were being set up all over the floor, Minho finally processed what Nick had said.

“Wait it’s _what_?”

Newt gestured for Minho to follow him, darting into the next room, where Minho knew his sleeping bag (and apparently, _Newt’s_ too) was.

\----------

Minho found himself settling into his dusty sleeping bag next to Newt, marvelling at how graceful Newt was, even while slithering into his sleeping bag. He quickly chased his thoughts away from anything less than decent.

“Excited for your second day?”

Minho looked up, staring at the wooden ceiling that looked like it could collapse at any moment. Thankfully, they were huddled in a corner, and the rest of the boys were some distance away, so they could talk to their hearts’ content. Well, Minho’s heart’s content, definitely. He wasn’t so sure about Newt.

“I guess?” He answered hesitantly. “I’m not sure what to do, really. What’s the point?”

“What’s the point in what?”

“This. Us being here. Who put us here?”

“We don’t know. That’s what the runners do. We explore the maze and try to find a way out. Hopefully, that’ll get us to some answers.” Newt explained, his expression hardening. “Not that we’ve had any luck so far.”

“Maybe you could use some fresh new perspective,” Minho suggested. “I could go running with you tomorrow, if you want.”

_Right. Just casually bringing up the possibility of spending more time with Newt. No biggie._

“Greenie, we run more in a day than you’ve run in your entire life. You can’t keep up. Plus, you don’t just become a runner. We only take the best of the best. That’s the only way you can survive in the maze.”

“So, if you’re the leader of the runners, are you the best of the best of the best?” Minho asked.

Newt let out a loud sigh, before continuing the conversation. “Yeah, I guess so. It wasn’t my choice, though.”

Minho could sense Newt’s mood deteriorating, and hurriedly blurted out, “aren’t you supposed to be fit then?”

Newt took the bait, and sat up suddenly, before turning to face Minho. “Who says I’m not fit?”

Minho grinned cheekily. “Well, see, I saw a bunch of guys with you earlier, the runners, and they looked like they had tons of muscles. And you…”

“Muscles don’t mean best, greenie.” Newt responded, jabbing Minho playfully in the arm. “You know what? Scratch Nick’s plan. Tomorrow, I’m bringing ya with me. I’ll show ya what the best of the best of the best really is.”

Newt settled back down, closing his eyes. Minho turned his head to the left to face Newt. He looked almost peaceful, Minho thought, gazing at Newt’s closed eyes and the small smile on his lips. If not for the bags under his eyes, he would’ve thought that Newt was happy. But, since he clearly wasn’t, it was going to be Minho’s job to turn that frown upside down. It was the least he could do for the boy who had done so much to help him on his first day.

“Greenie?” Newt mumbled, his eyes still shut.

“Yeah?”

“Quit staring at me. I’m trying to sleep.”

Minho could feel his cheeks burning as he turned to face the ceiling once more, determined not to stare at Newt’s hair or eyes or lips or _anything_.

“I wasn’t staring, you—you shank!”

“Are ya blushing? You sound like you’re blushing.” Newt whispered, his small smile only growing wider.

“It’s the heat!”

“It’s freezing.” Newt pointed out.

“Well, if it isn’t hot in here, then it’s probably you.” Minho spoke without thinking.

Newt let out a small laugh before turning on his side. “Go to sleep, greenie.”

“Newt?”

“Yeah?”

“You know my name, right?”

“Of course. It’s Minho. Unless ya wanted me to call you tonight.” Newt joked, recalling the pick-up line from earlier that day.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Minho deadpanned. “It’s just that you keep calling me ‘greenie’, so I wasn’t sure.”

“Don’t like it?”

“Nah, it’s fine. That way, it’ll be even more embarrassing when a _greenie_ outruns you tomorrow.”

Newt snorted. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, greenie.”

“If I beat you, can I be a runner?” Minho asked hopefully.

“Go to sleep, _Minho_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not posting for a while! but anyway i just finished a chapter so enjoy heh thanks for all the lovely comments and kudos! hope to hear more from you amazing people!!


	4. Breakfast Time

Minho awoke to the sound of boys groaning and sleeping bags rustling. The one next to him, however, had been rolled up next to a pillow.

“Alby?” Minho asked, calling out to the boy closest to him, who was trying to wake a stubborn glader. “Where’s Newt?”

“He’s a runner. He’s running,” Alby answered slowly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Minho rolled his eyes. “Well yeah, but I thought that he was going with me.”

“You?” Alby scoffed. “Greenie, you have no idea what’s out there, do you?”

“It’s just a maze, scaredy-cat,” Minho snorted. “Afraid of getting lost?”

The glader Alby was trying to wake suddenly spoke up, interrupting whatever he was about to reply with.

“Kid, haven’t you seen the graveyard?”

“Graveyard?” Minho echoed.

“On the first day, we tried escaping. The first few didn’t make it back.” Alby explained, before walking off to wake the rest of the gladers and ending the conversation.

Stuffing his sleeping bag back into a corner, Minho went in search of the only person whose company he wanted.

\----------

“Hey Siggy, do you know where I can find—”

“Newt? He’s over in the map room.” Siggy responded, passing Minho a plate with four slices of jam on toast and a couple of sausages on it.

Minho eyed the toast suspiciously. “You gave me double what everyone else got!”

“Newt never eats breakfast. I’m hoping you can change his mind, newbie. You’ve had quite an effect on him. Plus, it’ll give you an excuse to see him, and I know you’re dying to.”

 “No I—” Minho instantly denied.

“Relax, greenie.” Siggy chuckled, before giving him a wink. “Now go get yourself a boyfriend.”

“Wait, what do you mean I’ve had quite an effect on him?” Minho asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Go!”

\----------

Carefully opening the door with one hand and balancing the breakfast on his plate with the other, Minho snuck a peek inside.

“Newt?” Minho called out softly.

The blond-haired boy, too focused on his work, had his back turned, and clearly did not notice Minho entering the map room. The other boys looked up briefly, before returning to work. They appeared to be drawing from memory,and everyone’s drawing was slightly different, but Minho could tell. They were all pieces of the maze.

“Newt?” Minho asked again, a little louder.

Newt whipped his head around, eyes wide. “Minho? What are you doing here?”

“Uh, you said I could go running with you today?”

“Sorry, greenie. No can do. I’ve got to map out everything today. Maybe some other time.” Newt muttered, waving his hand about thoughtlessly. “Mind shutting the door on your way out?”

Minho could see Newt’s hands trembling as he drew lines on a large sheet of paper. The skin over his knuckles was white, as he gripped the pencil far too tightly.

“Come on, Newt, I brought breakfast,” Minho said lightly, trying to pry Newt away from his work.

A runner stage-whispered to another, “I wish I had a boyfriend to bring me breakfast too.”

“Slim it, shuckface.” Newt called out, without once looking away from his sheet of paper, the tips of his ears turning red once again. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Minho waved a bit of toast underneath Newt’s nose. “You know you want it,” he sang out.

Newt sighed. “If it’ll stop you from dropping bread crumbs all over my work, then sure.”

As he stood up and made his way to the door, with Minho following right behind him, another runner called out, “don’t forget to wear protection!”

Newt groaned, “I swear I’m going to kill those shanks.”

\----------

“So why don’t you eat breakfast?” Minho asked, sitting down on a patch of grass outside the map room. “It’s the most important meal of the day.”

“Too much work to do.” Newt answered, taking a bite out of a piece of toast.

“Come on, that’s why you don’t have any muscles.” Minho joked, hitting him lightly on the arm.

Newt grinned, before elbowing him back. “I guess that means you eat a lot, then.”

“Does that mean you’ve been checking me out?” Minho asked cheekily.

“In your dreams, greenie.”

Minho lay down on the grass, snagging another piece of toast from the plate. “You know you can afford to take breaks, right?”

A loud sigh came from the boy next to him. He seemed so small in that moment, sitting down, staring at the walls of the maze.

“I can’t, Minho. They’re counting on me. We’ve been here for a month, and I don’t want to make that two. I’m their leader. I have to do _something_.”

Minho’s eyes widened as he realised just how he could help Newt, and how he could spend more time with him. He sat up suddenly, startling Newt.

“Take me!”

“What?” Newt asked, voice an octave higher.

“Make me a runner! I can do it, you know I can.”

“Are you out of your m—”

“I can run really fast,” Minho added.

“No way am I letting ya into that maze. You don’t know what’s out there,” Newt shot back.

“Then show me! Let me run with you tomorrow.”

“It’s too dangerous. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Minho paused, surprised at Newt’s concern. He thought quickly, saying in a teasing tone, “you just don’t want my pretty face to get messed up, do you?”

Newt’s shoulders relaxed.

Minho grinned, thankful that the conversation had been successfully diverted away from the seriousness that Newt had to take a break from.

He took a gigantic bite from his piece of toast. “Hey Newt, guess what?”

“Wha?” Newt asked, mouth full.

“I _loaf_ you,” Minho declared, waving his toast in the air.

Newt giggled, and picked up a sausage. “Hey greenie, do you want to eat my sausage?”

Minho burst out laughing.

“Ya know what, greenie?”

“What?”

“Tomorrow, I’ll take you running in the maze.”

“Really?” Minho asked, hopeful.

“Really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter may not seem like much, but it's building up their relationship! sorry i haven't updated in ages but school's on a break now so i can hopefully finish this before school starts up again! thank you all for sticking by this story and i promise i'll finish it (i've got an ending planned out) and please like and comment if you can, thank you so much!


	5. Eyesight

A small crowd had gathered in front of the maze doors by the time both Minho and Newt were ready to enter the maze.

“Scared, kid?” Alby teased, while handing Newt his water bottle.

“You wish, shuck-face,” Minho shot back with a smirk, buckling the straps on his harness.

To tell the truth, Minho was starting to feel a little nervous, and the group of gladers around him wasn’t helping. He had spent all day the day before hearing horrible stories about the maze, and about the runners that hadn’t come back.

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Newt turned to Minho with a grin on his face.

“Don’t worry, greenie. You’re safe with me,” Newt reassured him, winking.

Despite having talked to him before, Minho’s heart still raced when he looked at the boy before him, and he stuttered, “U-uh, yeah. Definitely.”

From somewhere amongst the crowd, Gally’s voice sounded out, “the greenie fancies the leader of the runners!”

“Slim it!” Newt and Minho called out at the same time.

The crowd burst into laughter, with wolf whistles and calls of “they’re so married” echoing around the Glade.

“Okay, time to go,” Newt said, clearly embarrassed as he took off for the doors of the maze.

Minho followed close behind, eyes focused solely on the mop of blond hair in front of him. The rest of the runners had left earlier in the day, so they were the only ones heading into the maze. The walls of the maze seemed to loom eerily over them as they ran into the maze.

Minutes of silence passed as Newt ran, twisting and turning smoothly through the maze, as if he knew exactly where to go. He hardly paused as he stretched his hand out to twist a vine every time he made a turn. Minho admired his determination, but he also had no idea what Newt was doing. There was no way he could memorise all of it.

“Newt?” Minho asked.

“Hmm?” Said boy responded, concentrating on his path.

“Don’t you need to stop to map all of it out?”

“It’s up here,” Newt answered, tapping his head.

“Okay,” Minho said.

They fell back into silence, the only sounds being their feet hitting the ground as they ran past walls that all looked pretty much the same to Minho.

It felt like ages when Minho felt it was the appropriate time to tried again.

“Newt?”

“Hmm?” Newt responded yet again, still focusing on where they were going.

“Are you—”

“Argh!” Newt shouted, exasperated as he ran into a dead end.

He punched the wall, scraping his knuckles against the stems of the vines.

Alarmed, Minho grabbed Newt by the shoulder, pulling him away from the wall.

“Hey, it’s just a dead end. We can try other places.” Minho tried.

“No, I’ve run this route before. The others lead to dead ends too.” Newt sighed.

He moved to sit down on the ground, and Minho quickly followed.

“Minho, I’m starting to wonder if—” Newt paused, taking a deep breath before continuing on. “If there really is a way out.”

“Of course there is!” Minho said in a hurry. “We just haven’t found it yet!”

“The maze changes everyday, but there are patterns. After a week, it starts again. It’s been a month.”

_And I don’t know how much more I can_ take. That went unsaid, but to Minho it sounded as loud as the silence that permeated the air. Newt leant back, head thudding against the wall of the maze. Minho frowned, before realising that his friend was close to giving up.

“We’re going to find the exit, Newt. Together.”

Minho took a couple of sandwiches out of his bag, and offered one to Newt. He took it, a small smile forming on his face. (Which Minho thought was absolutely adorable, but he wasn’t about to say anything about that.)

“Come on, I owe you one. Let’s get our energy back before we try somewhere else.”

Taking a bite, Newt shifted over to Minho’s side and put his head on his shoulder.

Minho tried not to move as he silently freaked out. _He’s leaning on my shoulder. Oh my god oh my god oh my—_

“Thanks, Minho.”

“For what?” Minho asked, struggling to keep his voice calm.

“You’re strong. That’s good. Ya won’t die so easy out in here.”

“Wow, am I that strong? Are you checking out my muscles now?” Minho joked half-heartedly.

Newt lifted his head from his shoulder, chuckling, and Minho visibly relaxed. He sincerely hoped Newt could not hear his heartbeat at that moment, because it sounded like it could echo throughout the entire maze.

He glanced at Newt, wondering if he was alright. Well, that, and, he really couldn’t stop staring at that amazing boy. His eyes met Newt’s chestnut brown ones, which were looking right back at him. He quickly glanced away, embarrassed at having been caught.

“Like what you see, greenie?”

“Speak for yourself, you shank.”

Taking his hand, Minho pulled him back up, ready to start running again.

\----------

“Hey, Newt.” Minho panted out as he ran beside him.

“Yeah?” Newt asked, glancing at him.

“Does your left eye hurt?” He asked, a grin forming on his face.

“No, why?”

“Because you’ve been looking right all day,” Minho answered gleefully.

Newt stopped in his tracks, bending down.

“Are you alright?” Minho asked, now slightly concerned.

That was when he realised that Newt was shaking silently with laughter, while attempting to catch his breath.

“Greenie, don’t get this wrong, but your pick-up lines _suck_.”

\----------

The leader of the runners should not be _this_ affected by a new kid. Newt already liked Minho a great deal more than he should, he knew. Who wouldn’t, with that charming personality that had just the right amount of sarcasm and cockiness?

He knew that if he ever told Alby, he would get teased for it. Not that Alby hadn’t already guessed, of course. But hell if he was ever going to be the one to admit it. Plus, who’s to say that the greenie was even interested in guys?

\----------

Minho was in hell. That explained it. Why else would he be spending so much time with a cute boy that would never like him back?

He liked Newt way more than he should. No way would a boy like that go for a guy like him. The leader of the runners seemed like he could have his pick of the lot. He was probably already dating Alby, from the looks of it.

_That’s right, Minho. Thinking about dating while everyone else is focused on getting out of this hell-hole is definitely the smart thing to do. Great._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading guys! nearly done i think just one or two more chapters to go! but anyway yes i hope u enjoyed reading and please like and comment if you can thank you so much!! (also i haven't seen scorch trials yet and im so sad bc i rly want to watch it so no spoilers ok)


	6. Shine Bright like a Diamond

“Get up, greenie!”

A voice called out, before Minho felt himself being tugged out of his sleeping bag.

“Uhhh…” Minho murmured, still half-asleep as he clutched his pillow, not wanting to get up.

“You’re a runner now, shuck-face,” Newt said, extending a hand for Minho to pull himself up. “It’s time to go.”

“Can’t I… sleep… in…”

“Not if ya want to run with me,” Newt said cheerfully, before yanking Minho out of his sleeping bag.

At those words, Minho’s eyes flew open.

“I’m your partner?”

\----------

“Hey, greenie,” Nick greeted, as he plonked himself down next to Minho, on the bench furthest from the bonfire. “Just checking in to see how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing great,” Minho muttered under his breath before taking a huge gulp of Gally’s special drink. His focus was on the boy with blond hair, sitting in the front row, talking animatedly with Alby.

Nick followed his gaze. “Ah. You like Newt.”

“What?” Minho asked, coughing as he choked on the drink.

“You like Newt.” He said simply.

“Of course not!”

“Don’t deny it, greenie. I see the way you look at him. We all do.” Nick replied, pointing at the other gladers sitting around them.

“Okay, fine, so I like him, so what?” Minho retorted defensively. “It isn’t a crime, is it?”

“Nah. No one here really cares about that. I mean, it isn’t 2016, right?” Nick chuckled. “Your only problem is you’re aiming for the one of the only fish in the sea that’s already been reeled up by someone else.”

“Huh?”

Nick gestured to Alby with a swift jerk of his head.

Minho’s blood ran cold. “Are they going out?”

Nick nodded. “Probably. I see them together all the time. Sorry, greenie.”

“Nah, it’s alright,” Minho tried to say cheerfully, but all that came out was a sound that sounded like a dying horse.

“Sorry. I figured I should tell you before you got in too deep.”

_Too late._

Nick went on. “There are plenty of other people to fancy.”

“What’s this I hear about the greenie fancying someone?”

Newt plopped down beside Minho, one arm slung around his shoulder.

“Hey greenie, what’s this? How am I only hearing about this now?”

“It’s nothing. I just said I fancied another one of these amazing drinks. I’m still thirsty.” Minho replied hastily, waving around the empty mug that used to hold the nasty concoction.

“Really?” Newt asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Uh,” Minho paused, brain short-circuiting as he scrambled for an answer.

Nick snorted, before plucking the mug from Minho’s hands. “You’re definitely thirsty, greenie. I’ll go get you another one.”

“So, how’s Alby doing?” Minho asked, trying to sound casual.

“No worse than usual?” Newt answered, sounding confused. “Why?”

“No reason.”

\----------

Minho couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty, watching the pair of them. If Newt _was_ dating Alby, then he was crushing on someone who was unavailable. Extremely unavailable. Hell, they’d probably been dating since they had arrived in the Glade, way before Minho had arrived. He didn’t stand a chance.

\----------

He tried to avoid Newt, for a little while. It didn’t quite work out, seeing as they were running partners. The minute they returned from the maze however, Minho vanished, zooming off to find something to do that didn’t involve him being within a five metre radius of Newt.

He helped Gally with building (albeit not the best idea, seeing as he was rubbish at following the captain’s instructions), made sandwiches with Frypan, and stayed far away from the map room that a certain Leader of the Runners was in.

Minho’s mood seemed to darken with each day that he spent away from Newt, only being able to see him while they were running in the maze. He lost track of the days, and soon, a week had passed before he realised.

The next time he saw Newt was at the campfire.

“Hey, greenie, long time no see,” Newt joked, sitting down next to him.

Minho started, thoughts of _“has he noticed?”_ and _“is he upset?”_ flashing through his mind.

Newt slung an arm around him, his words slightly slurred. “Just kiddin’, Minho. Saw ya this mornin’. _Minho._ What a nice name.”

“Did you have something to drink?” Minho asked in disbelief, chuckling.

He hadn’t even know that they had alcohol here. What a dork.

Newt shook his head firmly, before pausing, and nodding. “Jus’ a little.”

“How’d you get that? It’s bad for you.”

Newt’s arm shot forward, hand dangling a bottle with liquid sloshing around in it, some spilling out onto the grass.

“It came up in the box. Have some.”

Minho shook his head, swiftly taking the bottle and pouring out the rest.

“No more for you, Newt. You’re going to feel terrible in the morning.”

“Why’d you do that?”

“What, pour it out?”

“No,” Newt said, resting his head on Minho’s shoulder. “Be nice to me. When you’ve been avoidin’ me. Have ya been avoidin’ me?”

Minho stammered, ”of course not! I see you everyday!”

“Not really, only when ya have to.” Newt pointed out, before leaning back and lying on the ground. “The sky is pretty at night.”

“Can you see any stars up there?”

“I can see one, maybe,” Newt said as he squinted to find more.

“Well, I can see one down here.” Minho answered, grinning cheekily.

He could hear groans coming from the gladers around them who had been close enough to witness the exchange between the two.

“Up your game, greenie!” Gally called out.

“It’s good enough!” Newt yelled back, to everyone’s surprise and delight.

All the gladers burst into laughter, some hooting and clapping Minho on the back.

“Come on Newt, it’s time to get you back. You need to sleep it off.” Minho muttered, quickly standing up and offering Newt a hand.

Minho went to bed quickly that night. He didn’t want Newt to notice just how red his cheeks were.

How could he not love him if he said stuff like that? Love? Like. He meant like. No one said anything about love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long!! one more chapter to go, hope you like this one. and if you enjoyed reading it (hope you did omg, sorry if you didn't) please comment and like, thank you so much


	7. Helping Hand

Newt woke up that morning to feet stomping as gladers scurried around, rolling up their sleeping bags, with a pounding headache, and a cup of water by his head. He automatically looked to his right, expecting to see a mop of dark hair peeking out of a sleeping bag. However, all he saw was wood and dirt.

“Where’s Minho?” Newt asked softly, putting a hand to his head to try to suppress the headaches.

A glader turned to him, replying, “he left ages ago.”

“Wait, what time is it?”

“Time you got up, sleepyhead.”

Newt turned towards the sound of the familiar voice, finding Alby kneeling down next to him, with his arm stretched out towards him, holding the glass of water.

“Thanks,” Newt said gratefully.

“Don’t thank me,” Alby responded, smirking. “Thank your boyfriend who tucked you in yesterday night. He got it for you.”

That was too much information to process all at once. “Minho?”

Alby nodded, getting up to wake the other gladers who were still snoring away happily.

“Wait, what do you mean boyfriend? He’s just a friend.” Newt replied hastily, ears rapidly turning red.

A look from his best friend was all he needed.

“You can’t hide it from me, man. You should tell him.”

“He doesn’t even know I like guys too.”

“Do you want him to?”

“Well, obviously, but I can’t exactly go up to him and say, ‘hi, I’m gay and I’m kind of in love you.’”

“Why not?”

“Anyway,” Newt cleared his throat, eager to move on before he had to start answering awkward questions in front of other curious gladers. “speaking of, where is my _friend_?”

“Running in the maze.”

“Alone?” Newt exclaimed, alarmed.

“Yeah, Nick figured he should, since you were pretty out of it when they tried to wake you this morning.” Alby replied, shaking another glader awake.

Looking back at his friend, knees curled to his chest on his sleeping bag, Alby realised how badly it was bothering him. “He’ll be alright, Newt.”

“I know, but…”

Newt couldn’t finish the thought.

\----------

He spent the whole day waiting for him at the entrance to the maze, sitting down on the grass beside the Doors.

\----------

As sun set, he could see the Runners returning, and he swiftly stood up. His eyes scanned over the first few, looking out for a specific one. At the back of the group, chatting happily to another Runner, was the boy he had been waiting for.

Spotting Newt standing at the Doors, with his hands on his hips, Minho waved, before saying a quick goodbye to the Runner and jogging over to where Newt was.

“Hey, Newt! How’s the hango—“

He was quickly interrupted by Newt’s arms wrapping around him in a firm hug.

“Newt?” Minho asked, alarmed. “Are you okay?”

Newt’s voice was muffled by Minho’s shoulder as he replied, “Don’t go into that maze without me ever again, do ya hear me, greenie?”

“Okay,” Minho readily agreed. How could he have been so thoughtless? Of course Newt would have worried.

“Let’s go back, I want to see what Frypan’s making tonight.” Newt said, pulling away from the hug.

Minho missed it already. Something about it felt so _right_. The air between the two now was stale, awkward, as soon as they broke apart, and he was eager to change it.

As they got into the queue right before Gally and Ben, whose shirts were rumpled and hairs were messed up, well, more than usual, Minho opened his mouth to speak.

“So, what’s on the menu?”

“I think I can see noodles. With fish balls.”

“No, it’s me ’n’ u,” Minho said cheekily, with a wink.

The smack on the head from Gally was worth the chance to hear Newt laugh.

Of course, when he caught a glimpse of Alby waving to Newt, his heart sank again. He had almost forgotten the whole reason why he started avoiding Newt in the first place.

\----------

A week passed by uneventfully. Minho ran with Newt every day, as always, and his heart ached as he ran, as always, but that was nothing new. On the plus side, it could be a medical condition. Somehow, he doubted it.

They spent a lot more time together than Minho knew he should, but how could he resist that grin that seemed to make the Glade so much brighter?

\----------

It was Alby who came to seek him out first, when they were relaxing instead of running for the first day since Minho had become a Runner.

“Hey, greenie?” Alby asked, gesturing for him to come with him.

Minho looked up at him, from where he was laying down beside the rest of the Runners, who were making the most of their day off.

“Sure,” he answered, mildly surprised, getting up hurriedly.

Newt looked to his best friend. “What’s this about?”

“Nothing, the greenie just agreed to help me with my map drawing. It’s a little rusty,” Alby answered smoothly, starting to walk off.

Newt looked suspicious, but shrugged his shoulders and lay back down on the ground. “See ya later, Minho.”

\----------

“So,” Minho asked, once they had settled down on the small hill nearby, out of hearing range. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Newt.”

Minho’s heart started racing. “We’re just friends, don’t worry, I’m not—“

“Greenie.”

Hearing his tone, Minho quickly stopped talking.

“A lot of the gladers are under the impression that he and I are dating, because of how close we are.”

“Aren’t—“

“ _However_ ,” Alby swiftly cut him off. “No one stops to think about whether we’re straight or not. I certainly am.”

For what seemed like the billionth time, Minho’s heart plummeted. “I hadn’t even thought about th—“

“But Newt certainly isn’t.”

Minho stared at him in stunned silence.

“So go tell him how you feel and make out with him or whatever it is you guys want to do, because we have all watched you try your pick-up lines for way too long, and you guys are obviously perfect for each other, seeing as he’s the only one laughing at them.”

“Hey,” Minho objected. “They aren’t that bad.”

“They suck.”

Alby rose up, before heading down the hill, back to where the Runners were, giving Minho time to think. A few more of the gladers had decided to join them and most of the boys were lying down, staring at the sky.

He bent down to whisper something in Newt’s ear. Whatever it was, it was clearly about him, because Newt’s head quickly turned towards him. From where he was on the hill, he could see Alby giving him a thumbs up, as Newt headed towards him.

“Alby said you had something to tell me?” Newt asked, once he had reached the top of the hill, staring down at him with _that_ perplexed expression on the face that Minho just couldn’t say no to.

“Uh…”

Newt waited, standing there awkwardly as Minho tried to think of something to say. His mind seemed blank in that moment, and he could feel panic start to rise within him. In the background, he could see Alby smacking is forehead, and other gladers beginning to get up and turn around to stare at the two of them.

He slowly opened his mouth, still desperately trying to think of a way to stall. Before he could fully process what was happening, he heard Newt utter a small “fuck it” before grabbing his hand and yanking him up, so that he was standing facing of Newt.

“I like you.”

Minho felt his mind short circuit, and before he could process anything, Newt took a step forwards, till their foreheads were touching. Minho’s heart started to race, and his hands gripped Newt’s waist gently as Newt held his shoulders. He almost couldn’t believe it was happening.

“Can I kiss you?” Newt asked softly, those chestnut brown eyes staring right at Minho’s, flicking down to his lips and back up to his eyes.

Taking a shaky breath, Minho replied, “yes,” before he felt his mouth stretch into a grin.

Newt’s expression mirrored his, and Minho was almost afraid that they wouldn’t be able to kiss because he was smiling too hard.

Their lips met, and Minho lost track of all the fears he had had, as all thoughts flew out of his mind, and he focused on one thing: _Newt_. The kiss was brief, short but sweet, and it left butterflies in his stomach.

Though the skies were clear, Minho could’ve sworn he heard fireworks in the distance. Or maybe that was in his head. The cheering probably was too. As they broke apart, he could hear the cheering getting louder. No, turns out that wasn’t in his head. He turned towards the direction of the sound, only to see most of the gladers applauding and cheering, led by, most surprisingly, Alby, who didn’t seem like the type to cheer.

“Hey, Newt?” Minho asked, glancing at him, realising that he hadn’t actually told Newt yet.

“Yeah?” Newt asked back, still grinning.

“I like you too.”

\----------

As they walked back down the hill to where the gladers were, Newt decided to try something.

They reached the gladers, and after a round of congratulations, Newt nudged Minho’s elbow with his own.

“Hey, Minho, that hand looks heavy, do you need help holding that?”

The gladers around them groaned in unison, as Minho retorted, “did you know your body is approximately 60% water, and I am thirsty as—“

Newt shut him up with another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it! Hope you enjoyed it, and sorry the last chapter took such a long time! (school's a mess) Please like and comment if you can, I'd love to receive feedback from you guys! and if you're reading this then thank you for reading it the whole way through, and if you want to I've got a tumblr, so just comment if u ever want to talk to me there and I'll give y'all the link!

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! so after promising to write more, i finally found the time to post this and i hope you like it! uh yeah so i'm pretty much minewt trash and i hope u are too bc then we can talk about those cute assholes and uh i'm not entirely sure where this is going (the story, i mean) but please like and give feedback or just comment if you can, thank you so much guys!!


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